Chapter 18

Celeste

The midday sun streamed through the windows to the hallway of the lecture center, filling the corridor with a warm glow.

Students bustled back and forth, some of them sitting on the benches and basking in the warmth of the sun in between classes. I was headed to my next class with no intention of doing anything after class except going home and wallowing some more over the ill fate of my beautiful blue dress.

“Celeste!”

Fiona’s shrill voice suddenly cut through the air, followed by the sound of her feet pounding against the tile floor. Broken from my pouting, I whipped around to see her storming toward me, holding her phone up.

“You’re not coming to the gym today? Or ever?” she growled, stopping less than a foot away from me. Her phone was open to the text that I had sent her earlier that morning.

I had deliberated for a long time over what to say, and finally settled for something simple: “Sorry, but I can’t come to the gym today. Or ever, actually. Sorry!”

“Um… Yeah,” I said, scratching my head. “I… I can’t.”

Fiona slowly lowered her phone and shot me an apprehensive look. “Why?”

I didn’t know what to say. I hadn’t told her yet about the dress, about what Jack had done. Finally, I decided to tell her, if only because I knew that there would be no getting around it with her. She was bound to draw it out of me eventually.

Grabbing her by the arm, I pulled her into a little alcove and lowered my voice. I told her everything.

“Jack found my dress hanging in my closet,” I explained. “And he heard about the gym. He… He tore the dress up, Fiona. It was in shreds. And now he’s watching me like a hawk, so I really can’t even think about going now.”

When I was finished, her eyes were wide. “Why didn’t you tell me sooner?” she whispered, her voice quivering slightly.

I shrugged. “I don’t know,” I replied. “I guess… I guess I just figured that it doesn’t matter at this point. It was stupid anyway.”

Fiona rolled her eyes, exasperated. “Celeste… It does matter! We’ll find you another dress and you’re going. That’s the end of that.”

“Fiona, you don’t understand…” I began, but she cut me off.

“No, YOU don’t understand. This is about you standing up for yourself. Not hiding away because of...of your brother or any other damn thing!”

“But who would want to see me there anyway?” My voice broke, betraying more vulnerability than I intended to show. “After everything that's happened? Besides, my brother is going with… Some girl, I don’t know her name. He would notice me.”

She folded her arms across her chest, her fiery eyes locked onto mine. “Do you remember what Matt said at the gym?”

I sighed, brushing a strand of hair behind my ear. “Fiona, Matt was just being nice.”

“Was he? Or did he actually mean it?” Fiona countered, her voice softening. “Celeste, you deserve to be there. You deserve to be seen. When you show confidence and stand up for yourself… You’re the hottest girl in the room!”

A heavy silence enveloped the room. I swallowed hard, feeling a tight knot in my throat. “It's complicated, Fi. Jack will notice if I show up.”

She smirked, grabbing me firmly by the shoulder.

“How about this? You and I, we have a ‘sleepover’ at my place on the night of the ball. We’ll even take fake pictures beforehand, making it look like we’re having the time of our lives in pajamas and face masks.”

I arched an eyebrow, intrigued despite myself. “You’re seriously suggesting this?”

She grinned. “Think about it. It's perfect! Jack calls to check, my roommate says we're right there, giggling away. Meanwhile, you’re dancing your heart out somewhere else.”

There was a wicked gleam in her eyes, one I couldn’t resist. A small chuckle escaped my lips. “Your roommate is in on this?”

Fiona shrugged. “She will be. Especially if we offer her pizza money in exchange for her secrecy. She’s a sucker for extra cheese.”

“Okay,” I said slowly, chewing my words as I folded my arms across my chest. “But like I said, Jack is gonna be at the ball. He’ll notice me.”

Fiona shook her head. “That’s where you’re wrong, Celeste,” she said with a grin.

I cocked my head. “Explain.”

Fiona took a deep breath.

“Jack won’t notice you because you’ll wear your fancy little mask, you’ll put on makeup, and we’ll get some colored contact lenses to hide those distinct mismatched eyes of yours. I’ll keep watch, too. If I see him headed in your direction, I’ll use a signal. And besides, it’ll be packed with people, and he’ll be drunk.”

The whole idea was crazy. Reckless. Yet, there was a part of me that wanted to say yes. To rebel against the confines that had held me back for so long.

“Okay,” I whispered, a hint of a smile playing on my lips. “Okay, let’s do it.”

Fiona let out a whoop, pulling me into a tight hug. “You won’t regret this! I promise.”

We both laughed, basking in the glow of our shared mischief. It felt good. Liberating. The weight of the past few days began to lift, replaced by a budding sense of excitement.

And so, our plan was set in motion.

The first step was over at Fiona’s place after class, where we staged the perfect ‘sleepover’ shots.

Her room was a mess of popcorn, nail polish, and magazines strewn everywhere. We even dressed in our most comfortable PJs, snapping pictures of us laughing, painting each other’s nails, and posing with masks on our faces.

It felt silly, but the lightness of it all was contagious.

Then, as promised, Fiona handed her roommate a wad of cash.

“Remember,” she said, “pizza is on us. But if anyone shows up at the door, and it’s a certain someone looking for Celeste and we’re not here, we went out to get more snacks. Or whatever good lie you can come up with at that time.”

Her roommate chuckled. She was a quiet goth girl who hated the very idea of dances, and had been planning to stay home from the beginning.

“Deal,” she said, snatching the wad of cash out of Fiona’s hand. “Just make sure you guys have fun, and stay safe.”

Now that everything was set, I felt relieved but also terrified at the same time. Fiona, noticing my trepidation, pulled me into a warm hug.

“It’ll be worth it, Celeste,” she murmured, rubbing my back as I relaxed into her arms. “You’ll be like Cinderella at the royal ball.”

I shook my head, letting out a wry chuckle. “Yeah, sort of, except I don’t have a Prince Charming, nor do I have a fairy godmother.”

Fiona broke the hug and smirked. “Matt is your Prince Charming, dummy,” she said. “And I’m your fairy godmother, of course.” Fiona paused, her smirk growing into a grin at the sight of my reddened cheeks.

She took my hand, her eyes filled with mirth and mischief. “And now, your fairy godmother is going to get you a dress.”